Archive for Politics

Gay rights are religious rights

October 11, 2007 / / 9 comments

Today is National Coming Out Day. Last year, I wrote about gay rights as relational rights. This year, I’d like to talk about how gay rights are religious rights.

Gay rights, yes, are civil rights, and are amply justified in the Constitution under “equal protection,” not to mention “pursuit of happiness.” But we tend to bury the fact that religious liberty is also at stake.

The entire notion that there’s something wrong with being gay, something unacceptable, is a religious one. It’s based in the Bible or the Koran or some other bookish thingy. So why should those who do not follow those books be bound by their laws?

There is lots of room for gay people, and indeed for gay marriage, in most Pagan religions. As a Wiccan Priestess, I would be happy to perform a handfasting (marriage) ceremony for a gay couple. But while I can perform such a ceremony for a straight couple and have it legally recognized, the same-sex handfasting cannot be recognized. Since they are equal in the eyes of my religion, isn’t that State interference with religion?

You’ll see them say it. You’ll see them say marriage is “sacred.” If it’s sacred, it belongs to religion and religion alone; keep the State out of it. If it’s not sacred, if it’s civil, then everyone should have an equal shot at it.

Quote of the Day

October 11, 2007 / / Comments Off on Quote of the Day

I just got an email from Isaac; I don’t know where he picked up his new sig line, but it’s glorious:

Other than telling us how to live, think, marry, pray, vote, invest,
educate our children and, now, die, I think the Republicans have done
a fine job of getting government out of our personal lives.

—Craig Carter, The Oregonian, 5/22/05

Early Decision

October 10, 2007 / / 2 comments

Arthur has decided to apply for “Early Decision” to his chosen school. It’s a smart choice. He knows where he wants to go, and if he gets in he’s saved the hassle of applying elsewhere; we’ll know before standard application deadlines. If he doesn’t get in, we’ll have time to regroup and choose the next course of action.

About a year ago, I read an article on the trend of kids applying Early Decision or Early Action. (Early Decision means you commit to attending if you get in, Early Action you do not.) The whole thing was that it used to be just exceptional students who applied early, often for special reasons, or because they were particularly driven. Now there are so many more super-ambitious students that early decision/action has actually changed the ability of everyone to get into selective universities; so many slots are filled early that more and more students have to apply early in order to compete.

Thinking about this made me think about how the Presidential Primaries are in virtually the same sort of situation. There used to be one or two or three early primaries, but then, the states with later primaries started to feel like they were out of it, so they moved their primaries forward, which pushed other states to move theirs, which pushed New Hampshire earlier, and so on. Now we’re all suffering by this incredibly extended campaign season.

Listen, I’m from New Jersey. Our primary was in June. It’s miserable to go cast a primary vote when there are no candidates left. So I empathize with the urge to push forward. But you know we would be better off if the whole thing took less time, and earlier primaries make the campaign season longer and more grueling.

I see a relationship between these two “early push” phenomena, that speaks to how we, as a culture, are pushing further harder faster sooner now now now. It doesn’t serve us to be the least patient people on Earth. We’re pushing the boundary of “early” so hard now, that soon we’ll have to start before we start. Babies will be competing for schools in utero. And the next Primaries will begin as soon as the current election is over.

So could we all just TAKE A FUCKING BREATH?

Just saying.

Preventative lunch

October 5, 2007 / / Comments Off on Preventative lunch

They have this website where you can put money into an account and your kid can use it towards school lunch. And Arthur wanted me to sign up. And I said “I want you packing your own lunch.” And he said “I will, this is just in case.”

And I opened my mouth to say something and then stopped, and he said “What?” And I said “I was about to say that I didn’t want to put money in this, because it might encourage you to blow off packing lunch. But that’s kind of like not giving kids condoms because it might encourage them to have promiscuous sex, right?”

“Right.”

So I set up Arthur’s account.

But it got me thinking about the no-condoms, no-sex ed, no-HPV vaccine crowd. When you’re a parent, you grow a lot of “no” under your skin. You say it a lot. You want to say it a lot, because pretty quickly you learn how much there is that needs restricting, and how enormous a child’s capacity for stupid is. And yes, you want to say “yes” a lot too. But I want to acknowledge the tightness in the heart, the “I can’t allow that” feeling. Which is sometimes protective, and sometimes (as in the case of lunch money) “Don’t fuck with me, kid.”

What we parents struggle with is the knowledge that kids won’t always listen to “no,” and won’t always do what they’re told, and will sometimes make mistakes, and will sometimes get in trouble that is in no way their own fault. These are all truths that a parent might suffer over, but once we acknowledge these truths, we can move on to the understanding that we want to protect our kids anyway.

September 11, 2007

September 11, 2007 / / 8 comments

As I listen to the radio this morning, I am reminded of the date. And the more I listen, the more it becomes clear: No one knows what to say.

Arthur’s school calendar has today marked as “The Day We Will Never Forget.” Okay. If we’ll never forget, why do we have to mark it? There’s something so self-serving, so bombastic, about the statement. Never forgetting is internal, but marking the calendar with a big Twin Towers graphic overlaid by those word says “We’ll never forget motherfucker.”

And certainly rage is as appropriate a reaction as sorrow (which is where I tend to live with it), but graphic arts bombast I can do without.

We have been abused and taken advantage of by our government. Our love of country has been manipulated, our grief has been played like a violin. Osama bin Laden is still free and our troops were prevented from capturing him, and no one who actually had anything to do with the attacks of September 11 has been brought to justice. More American troops have died in Iraq, a war cynically sold to us as having ‘something’ to do with September 11, than actually died on September 11, 2001.

Our civil liberties have been eroded past the point of horror in the name of fighting back, and yet, we have not really fought back. There is no evidence that the PATRIOT Act or the illegal wiretappings have captured any terrorists.

The city of New York itself has been treated with cynicism and gross disregard. Respiratory disease among clean-up workers is rampant. Giuliani bears a great deal of blame for refusing to allow OSHA to run the safety show at Ground Zero, while the federal government is accountable for a false EPA report declaring the area safe, and yanking away money promised to survivors and rescuers.

And I could go on.

So today’s memorials focus on grief, because the rage that once was directed at bin Laden alone is now directed inward, towards our own government, and that is unbearable.

And about grief, there is so little to say.

Twisted Log Cabins

September 1, 2007 / / 4 comments

Is there anything more bizarre than the Log Cabin Republicans? Okay, sure, there’s lots more bizarre. Nonetheless, LCR is pretty flipping strange. And despite the fact that they position themselves as a particular kind of Republican, in opposition to the Radical Right and committed to changing the Party from within, their pretzel logic is pretty damn twisty, and hey, that’s got to hurt.

Why do I bring this up? Why, because they’re calling for Larry Craig’s resignation!

In an earlier press release, they explain it this way:

Log Cabin strongly opposes outing. It’s unproductive and distracts people from the real work of convincing more Americans to support equality for gay and lesbian people. It’s not for me to speculate about Senator Craig’s sexual orientation. However it’s clear that whether it’s Jim McGreevey, Ted Haggard, or someone else, life in the closet often leads to destructive, harmful, and reckless behavior.

They want him to resign because he’s in the closet? But they oppose outing? Ooooo-kay.

The fact is, supporting the Republican Party and supporting gay values (equality, freedom from discrimination, ability to marry) is twisted. Not in the vernacular sense, but literally; it twists and turns around. And to choose to commit to being twisted…well, if it isn’t self-hatred, what is it?

Gonzo is Gone

August 27, 2007 / / 3 comments

Alberto Gonzales has resigned.

It doesn’t solve anything. His successor (probably Skeletor Chertoff, according to rumor) will certainly be as bad, as corrupt, as mendacious. The Justice Department is still in ruins.

And yet, and yet…I did a little happy dance when I heard the news.

Internet makes nice girls have sex

August 15, 2007 / / 12 comments

I picked up a newspaper to read over lunch, and I come across this on the front page:

Mom’s sleuthing snares sex suspect

Investigators credit a cyber-savvy Ramsey mom with helping nab a 42-year-old Pennsylvania man who they said had sex with her 15-year-old daughter after they met on a social networking site.

The entire article is like a confluence of social anxieties, being equal parts sexism, slut-shaming, and fear of technology.

“It’s a complete shock,” said the woman…, “She hasn’t dated much. She doesn’t wear makeup. She’s not one of these ‘hot’ kids, strutting all over the place.

“It shows how scary the Internet can be.”

That’s right. There are sluts who wear makeup, and nice girls who don’t date (much), but Teh Scary Internets can make nice girls have consensual sex.

As you read the article, outlining how the 15 year-old girl met the 42 year-old man for sex at a hotel twice, you come to understand that this girl was definitely making a choice. Now, the man is clearly a sick motherfucker, but the girl? Chose to have sex. Despite the fact that she doesn’t wear makeup.

Her mother is clearly confused. Only painted strumpets have sex. Therefore, some other explanation for her daughter’s abberation must be sought, and fortunately, it’s right there on the desk: The computer. The computer made her do it! If it weren’t for “social networking sites” her daughter would still be a virgin—because that’s exactly the truth about unpainted girls in the pre-Internet days. They were all virgins. And still are.

Inside [the suspect’s] truck [the police] found a laptop with broadband access and a global positioning device that Maloney used to guide him on the more than 100-mile trip from his Pennsylvania home, said Joseph Macellaro, acting chief of detectives for the Prosecutor’s Office.

“This was a pretty determined individual,” Macellaro said. “Obviously, this person is somebody who would be considered dangerous.”

OHNOEZ! Only determined perverts have laptops! And GPS units!

Sgt. Andrew Donofrio, who heads the prosecutor’s Computer Crimes Unit, said credit is due to such mothers – however nosy – who relentlessly investigate potential indecencies on their children’s computers.

“She took a proactive step,” Donofrio said.

The mother said it simply seemed the right thing to do.

“I guess all the warnings that you read about as a parent are true — that you do have to monitor them non-stop,” she said.

I’m tempted to just leave this part without comment. Because obviously, non-stop monitoring helped so much here. I mean, yes, it stopped this pervert. And one less free-roaming pervert, yay. But in what way is that parenting? The girl isn’t even in the equation, is she? Non-stop spying monitoring isn’t helping this girl make good choices, or even working towards understanding what choices she actually made.

The mother also took the computer away. So now I suppose the girl will have to wear makeup.

Monday Movie Review: Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill!

August 13, 2007 / / 5 comments

Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (1965) 7/10
Three women embark on a haphazard crime spree after killing a young man and taking his girlfriend prisoner. Directed by Russ Meyer.

I saw this movie several weeks ago, but I have to say, I’m at a loss as to how to review it. Certainly the rating is a shot in the dark, because it’s impossible to choose a standard by which to judge. The acting is sometimes so bad that I burst out laughing. On the other hand, the movie is suffused with a raw vitality that is thrilling to watch. As Varla, Tura Satana is bursting at the seams; literally, in her painted-on clothes, and figuratively, too bombastic an actress, but also too angry, to hyper-energized a character. She is utterly evil, but also fully alive; a kind of oversexed, murderous, Übermensch. Her only motivations seem to be to keep moving, keep fighting, keep grabbing, keep controlling, and keep fucking. Her companions are not happy when she turns them into a gang of killers; Rosie (Haji) is interested only in her lover Varla, while Billie (Lori Williams) wants to fuck, get drunk, fuck, party, fuck, dance, and fuck.

So these characters are repulsive and yet compelling, and their opposition, a vile old man and his two passive sons, are never given the opportunity to gain our sympathy. Ultimately, Arthur and I found we were rooting for the “pussycats” despite ourselves, even with (or especially with) the annoyingly innocent Gidget-esque Linda (Susan Bernard) as their victim.

Arthur had this idea when we sat down to watch it that this would be a great movie to blog, kind of figuring with the title and the theme I could really sink my feminist chops into it. But that didn’t turn out to be the case. You could twist yourself into a pretzel arguing that the pussycats are empowered, or that they’re exploited. Clearly their cleavage is exploited. But if this movie has a theme, it is (on the positive side) vitality and life force, and (on the negative side) power and the abuse of power. As vital women, the pussycats are sexual and sexualized, but because they are all tall and busty and forceful, they don’t seem objectified. Their gaze is direct and outward, not meek and askance, and their presence dominates the scene and the screen. They keep thrusting themselves forward and taking the lead in every experience. And it is definitely true that Meyers is interested in making sure this is “symbolized” shall we say, by their enormous breasts in tight outfits and all that. But these women have both agency and power, especially Varla, who is excited by abusing her power.

The most stereotypical woman is Rosie, who is going along with a lover who pushes her into situations with which she is unhappy. She is basically silent in the face of abuse and disloyalty; a lesbian battered partner. Her presence seems mostly designed to point to Varla’s negativity; lest we enjoy her wildness too much, we are reminded that her own lover in her own gang is hurt by it.

I was surprised how much I enjoyed this, not just for its camp value, but for the waves of imagery and energy, the cleanly-constructed story, and the smart use of low budget to make minimalistic sets and locations really count.

Santeria! The Horror! The Horror!

August 8, 2007 / / 5 comments

A New York City school principal is under investigation for having a Santeria ritual performed in the school.

Education officials are pushing to fire [Principal Martiza] Tamayo, a 17-year veteran of city schools who earned $133,998 last year.

There are complications and some accusations of other inappropriate behavior. It’s important to note, though, that there are always other accusations. School boards are generally too savvy too just come out and say “We don’t like your religion so go away.” It’s like union-busting; they do it by writing you up for other offenses—offenses that would make no difference to your employment if you weren’t union.

Newsday reports Tamayo will be fired.

The New York Daily News, which doesn’t give a shit about appearing unbiased, refers to “bizarre Santeria ceremonies,” “peculiar events,” and “creepy warnings.” The article admits that no students were in the building during the ceremony, which was intended to “calm students down.”

Though there were no children in the building and no witnesses to the ritual itself, staff members told investigators the fourth floor smelled of incense and was “really smoky.” School sources said chicken blood had to be cleaned off the floors.

Later that week, [Assistant Principal Melody] Crooks-Simpson agreed to participate in one of the rituals and heeded Tamayo’s creepy warning: “Wear white. If there’s anything evil, it won’t get on you.”

Crooks-Simpson sat in a conference room as Fonte “took two puffs from a brown cigar,” spoke in another language and read tarot cards, according to yesterday’s report.

Another language! Horrors!

Now watch the tip-toeing:

The problem wasn’t that Tamayo was performing bizarre religious rituals but that she was coercing her staff to participate, [special commissioner of investigation for city schools Richard] Condon said.

“Had she hired a priest to sprinkle holy water on the building, and she coerced the assistant principal into paying for it and attending it, I would have a problem with it,” Condon said.

Of course he would! But Newsday wouldn’t call it “bizarre,” would they?

It is, of course, possible that there is misconduct here. There are allegations of coercion, of misuse of funds, of transporting students without parental permission. But would these allegations come out if it wasn’t in conjuction with gawking at the creepy religion practiced by the creepy brown people? I think not. It’s all very well for an investigator to say he’d have a problem with an equivalent Catholic ceremony: Would such a ceremony be reported to him? Would teachers be horrified and frightened?

Santeria is the go-to religion if you want to prove how nasty Pagans are. Chicken blood! My stars and garters! (And seriously, he who is without dead chicken may cast the first tofu burger.) Tarot cards! Foreign language! Headdresses! (Don’t Catholics use those?)

Christians who have been fighting for the right to pray in school need to understand that other people have that right as well. Because, y’know, America, First Amendment, like that.

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